Blog Writing: For Financial Advisors

If you are a financial advisor and are looking to get your name out on the internet more, blog writing is the sector of social media that is waiting for you. As for any business, blog writing is beneficial and a great way to rank higher in a Google search. The more you have on your website, the higher you will rank when someone is searching for something that you have on your website. Is it a blog about how to manage your taxes during COVID-19? How about a blog about what you need to do with your finances if you have been laid off? Either way, blogging is the route to go. Let's go over the best practices for blogging as a financial advisor.

Plan It Out

Working in the financial industry means that you know how to plan. So, when writing a blog, you need to have a plan. Before jumping the gun and writing a blog, you want to make sure you have at least a topic or a few on hand. Without a topic, you will most likely be jumping all over the place and spilling your thoughts into Microsoft Word. This is not the way to do it. The best thing you can do for yourself and your blog's success is to plan it out beforehand! Set aside sometime during the week to brainstorm some relevant, financial-focused topics.

Because the stock market has fluctuated all during quarantine, why not write something focused on what your prospects and current clients can do for their financial portfolios? Having structure in terms of potential topics is one of the best ways to get the bones of your blog together. You want to make sure your blogs are going to be focused on the things your prospects and current clients are searching for - that is how you will end up ranking high SEO-wise.

Have Some Structure When Blog Writing

When writing a blog, you need to have some structure. Once you have gotten your topic down, you need to nail down a plan for how much you will write and how often you want to write. At Hyperchat Social, we recommend one blog a month for your website. For financial advisors, the more blogs written each month, the merrier. Because the financial industry goes through numerous changes as the stock market tends to fluctuate, finding topics to write about should not be an issue.

Now, this format might not be for everyone, but for starters, having this type of structure will get you in the habit of writing blogs and being consistent.

Let's break down the structure.

Blog Structure

Structure-wise, you need to have a minimum of two body paragraphs. The structure we recommend at Hyperchat Social for a standard blog is as follows:

• Graphic with the blog title
• Blog title
• Introductory Paragraph
• Body paragraph
• Body paragraph
• Conclusion
• Call to action and link to the website and/or email address

Graphic with Blog Title

To make a graphic, we highly recommend using the free tool Canva to enhance your blog post. Having a visual element on your blog grabs attention and entices readers to read what is below the graphic: your written masterpiece, otherwise known as your blog. Want to learn the best reasons to make a graphic in Canva? Check out our other blog specifically about it HERE!

Blog Title

Your blog title might not seem like a vital element to your blog, but it is. Your blog title is what gets people to actually read your blog! The best types of blog titles are the ones that grab people's attention. For example:

Things About Social Security vs. The 5 MOST Important Things You Need to Know Before Taking Out Social Security

Which one would you be more drawn to reading? Odds are, you would most likely choose the second title over the first. It is more attention-grabbing and keeps you wanting more—that is the way to write a blog title, as it's something your prospects and clients are going to want to read and probably something that they would search the internet for eventually. At the end of the day, your blog title needs to do the following:

1. Grab attention
2. Include keywords
3. Be concise
4. Ask a question or use the list approach (5 things to know, top 3 stocks to invest in, etc.)

Now, not all of your blog titles need to have all of these, but they DO need to include the first three. Your titles have to be attention-grabbing, include keywords for SEO purposes and algorithm rankings on google, and be concise. Having a concise, but strong blog title only encourages people to look down and read the rest of what you have spent time and research writing!

Introductory Paragraph

Your introductory paragraph is also one of the most important parts of your blog. Why? Well, the introductory paragraph is what most readers jump to. If the introductory paragraph does not do its job, which is to keep people left on a cliff-hanger and wanting to keep reading, you will want to begin writing them this way. Your introductory paragraph should include a hook title, such as a question. Each sentence in your introductory paragraph should connect to the following sentence in that the previous sentence's thought leads into the one following it. This is standard for most pieces of writing. The final part of your introduction paragraph needs to have a hook, which is almost like a little piece of encouragement. For example, you could say, "Keep reading to find out!" or "Want to learn how? Read below."

Body Paragraphs

Your body paragraphs are where the facts come out. Rather than solely speak facts, you want to make sure your body paragraphs also include personal touches, such as examples, anecdotes, previous client experiences, etc. The body paragraphs in a blog serve to hold the information your reader was searching for. You do not want to include NEW information in your conclusion, as the new information and factual content belongs in the body of the blog. When blog writing, the body paragraphs also should contain transitions between one another. Using transitional phrases such as however, moreover, therefore, and on the other hand, are great starters for connecting between paragraphs. When blog writing, make sure you keep your target market in mind, especially in these body paragraphs. You do not want to include unnecessary information, as readers can and will lose interest quickly if this is the case.

Conclusion

Your conclusion is exactly what it sounds like: the end! This is the big finale, the final straw. How you wrap up your blog is a huge determinant in whether or not someone contacts you and/or comes back to your website for more information. Your conclusion should wrap up your blog in a way that leaves the reader with valuable information and the motivation to reach out to you to schedule an appointment or a call. After all, the conclusion serves as your last opportunity to persuade your target audience to do business with you. In your conclusion, summarize the main points of your blog in a way that is not repetitive but one that is effective and valuable. Your readers will thank you later for this!

How Do I Start Blog Writing?

When it comes to blog writing, there are numerous ways to write, topics to write about, and endless opportunities to show off your practice and how you are a financial industry expert. By starting to write blogs, you are proving to your current clients that they have a knowledgeable, trustworthy financial professional working with them and planning out their financial futures. You are also proving to your prospects that you take the time to educate people on things they should know regarding their finances. This means a lot to people looking for advice, and they will come back for more.

Are you a financial advisor? Do you need someone to write the blogs FOR you? Have no fear, Hyperchat Social is here! At Hyperchat Social, we LOVE to blog! Did you know that we can write blogs for you, too? Looking for a newsletter, perhaps? We do those, too! We'd love to learn about how we can help you Turn Social Into Sales. Click HERE to schedule an initial consultation with one of our team members!